Battle metal stalwarts Manowar will release a “retail version” of their new studio album, ‘The Lord of Steel’ on September 28th.

The band’s twelfth studio release, ‘Lords’ was originally issued as a “fanpack” edition in conjunction with Metal Hammer Magazine back in June 2012. According to bassist Joey DeMaio, the new retail version is very different to the version issued previously, a “director’s cut” and “even more brutal”.

You can read a review of Manowar’s 1992 release ‘The Triumph of Steel’ here.

UK prog rockers Big Big Train have a new release on the horizon.

The new release, entitled ‘English Electric (Part One)’, follows 2010’s lengthy EP ‘Far Skies, Deep Time’.

Before the album’s release on September 3rd, a full length stream of new track ‘Judas Unrepentant’ can be heard below.

In the summer of 2010, Saxon released a two-and-a-half hour documentary detailing the history of the band. Featuring then new and unseen interviews with most of the key figures associated with Saxon between the band’s formation and the release of ‘Into The Labyrinth’, the two DVD set (available only via the internet) proved unmissable for most fans.

It was originally planned that a single disc edition would be released at regular retail outlets before the end of that same year.  It never happened.  As 2011 also came and went without any further comment on the “scaled down/retail” version, it looked unlikely it would be released at all.

An official statement from the band now says that ‘Heavy Metal Thunder: The Movie’ should be available at retail outlets before the end of 2012!  It is not clear whether the retail version will be a shorter edit of the documentary as originally planned, or whether enough time has passed for the full unexpurgated tale to be re-released.

To read a review of the original full-length movie, click here.

It’s been eleven years since No Doubt released their pop/dance swansong ‘Rock Stready’. Over the past year, fans have awaited the much publicised return of Gwen Stefani and her band.

The confirmed tracklist for the band’s “comeback” disc ‘Push & Shove’ is fully detailed below.

‘Settle Down’
‘Looking Hot’
‘One More Summer’
‘Push And Shove’
‘Easy’
‘Gravity’
‘Undercover’
‘Undone’
‘Sparkle’
‘Heaven’
‘Dreaming The Same Dream’

Ahead of their second album ‘Come of Age’ (released on September 3rd 2012), popular indie act The Vaccines have some free music for you.

A new EP finds the band covering a handful of tracks by well-known artists, as they put their stamp on tunes by Jonathan Richman, Nick Lowe, Wire and…ABBA.

This new outing, entitled ‘Please, Please Do Not Disturb’ can be downloaded by visiting their official website.